Tuesday, June 29, 2010

New Rye Has 200+ Year Pedigree.

America's newest rye whiskey has a famous name on the label, George Washington.

Yes, that George Washington.

After his presidency, George Washington's Mount Vernon estate included among its many enterprises a distillery, which made whiskey and other spirits from the farm's grains and other produce.

This Thursday, July 1, for the first time since Washington's distillery burned down in 1814, the public will be able buy rye whiskey made there.

And, thanks to a new law in Virginia, they can taste it before they buy it at this special public event.

The extremely limited edition whiskey (550 bottles) was produced in the reconstructed distillery in 2009 according to the General's own recipe discovered by historians in the mansion's extensive records.

Starting at noon, the public will be able to sample small amounts before purchasing one of the unique 375 ml bottles for $85. Proceeds will benefit Mount Vernon's education programs.

The distillery and gristmill are located at 5514 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway (SR 235), about three miles south of the Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens main entrance.

1 comment:

Ryan Pittman
said...

Got mine today (bottle #39)... Thanks for the heads up, Chuck! The event was very well attended, and George Washington himself even made a speech. They were selling 375ml bottles of the limited edition rye (43% ABV), as well as smaller two-shot bottles of a 60.6% American blend (described as a special blend of premium whiskeys from some of the US's most well known distilleries) that they have made available in the past. The rye is fairly smooth and quite tasty, and I enjoyed it more than the blend, but both were good. The Master Distiller told the crowd that they will make several more small batches this winter before beginning a two-year cycle with subsequent products. Again, thanks for the tip!